At Bihar rally, Nitish thanks PM Modi for visiting state 'almost every month'

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday profusely thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking time off to visit the state "almost every month".

The JD(U) supremo made the remark in Motihari town, where he shared the stage with Modi, whose supposed charisma he presumably counts on in the upcoming assembly polls.

Modi's visit to East Champaran district was his sixth tour of the state this year, yet again highlighting the critical importance the state holds in the BJP-led NDA's scheme of things, as opposed to, say, Manipur. One of those visits was also made almost immediately after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack of 22 April in which 26 civilians were killed, with critics accusing him of using the massacre as election campaign fodder.

Lauding the prime minister for the "growth" that the country has experienced, Kumar also had words of appreciation for the Union government's Bihar-specific measures.

"I would also like to thank the Prime Minister for visiting different parts of the state almost every month. It is a big thing. I would like to thank him, and let us have a round of applause for him. So all of those who have come here, please stand up", Kumar told the mammoth rally, where seating arrangements were in place for five lakh people.

For his part, PM Modi sounded the poll bugle at the Motihari rally, and urged the people to re-elect the NDA-JD(U) government to power. He also made an indirect reference to the land for jobs scam, on a day when the Supreme Court turned down a plea by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, a former railway minister and the prime accused, for a stay on trial.

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Without mentioning the state's opposition RJD-Congress combine by name, Kumar made it a point to underscore "governance began in earnest in Bihar only after we took over. Those in power earlier were not even able to expend the funds properly".

As though on cue, the Bihar cabinet on Friday cleared a proposal to provide 125 units of electricity free of cost every month to domestic consumers across the state beginning 1 August, a move Nitish Kumar himself has repeatedly and vehemently opposed in the past.

Of course, there was no trace of past opposition as he chaired the cabinet meeting in Patna which cleared the proposal by the energy department, bringing the curtain down on recent confusion about whether the move would be cleared after all, thanks to apparent cross-communication by Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary.

“The state government will pay additional Rs 3,797 crore on electricity consumption to the Bihar State Power Holding Corporation Ltd for the purpose,” a statement issued by the state’s information and public relations department said.

The Bihar government will also provide financial assistance to instal 1.1-KW capacity solar power plants on rooftops to domestic consumers, it said.

The decision is expected to benefit nearly 1.67 crore families in the state, and may well become a potent vote magnet in the upcoming polls.

With PTI inputs